Microsoft has announced that as of November 1^st 2021, they will be making some changes to the version requirements of Outlook application to connect to Microsoft 365 services. This means that some older Outlook versions will no longer work – and need to be updated.

What versions are impacted?

Microsoft is removing the capability of connecting with Microsoft 365 services for the versions below:

• Outlook 2007
• Outlook 2010
• Office 2013 (15.0.4970.9999 and older)
• Office 2016 (16.0.4599.9999 and older)
• Office 365 ProPlus (1705 and older)
• Office 365 Business (1705 and older)

If you are running any of the above versions, you will need to upgrade your application. Continue reading to see our suggestions and guide how to proceed.

What versions am I on?

First, let’s find out what Outlook version you are running:

For Outlook 2013 or higher

1. Open your Outlook desktop application
2. Click on “File” (Top left) in the tool bar
3. On the left-hand side find and click “Office Account”
4. On the right-hand side you should now see “Product Information”
5. Click on “About Outlook” icon to reveal more information and take note of your version build

For Outlook 2010

1. Open your Outlook desktop application.
2. Click on “File” (Top left) in the tool bar
3. On the left-hand side find and click “Help”
4. On the right-hand side you should now see “About Microsoft Outlook”

If you are using Microsoft 365 Apps or other M365 subscriptions with Apps included, then you do not need to take any further action since you will not be impacted.

Why is this change happening?

As Microsoft continue to evolve their Microsoft 365 services with new features, they introduce security enhancements and improved application stability.  The result is that some legacy applications either become incompatible with the service change implemented or they pose a security risk to its users.  Microsoft explain that “Support for basic authentication is ending to increase the security of Microsoft 365 by relying on modern authentication protocols, which are not only more secure, but also provide compliance and policy controls to help you manage your data.” - (read more here)

“We’re working on adding support for HTTP/2 in Microsoft 365. HTTP/2 is a full duplex protocol, which decreases latency through header compression and request multiplexing. On the service side, we’ll be able to better prioritize requests and more effectively push data to clients.”

My version is going out of support; what should I do?

BMIT suggests that businesses and users upgrade to a subscription-based monthly license for Microsoft 365 Apps or Microsoft 365 Business Standard. You can do so by visiting our online store or contact us so that we can analyse and provide you with a tailored recommendation.

Outlook 2007 and Outlook Outlook 2010 users have two options: either upgrade to Microsoft Apps for Business or if your organisation is highly regulated or user’s devices cannot take upgrades then we suggest upgrading to Office 2019 or Office LTSC 2021 (released September 2021).

Office 2013 users can upgrade their Version to 15.0.4971.1000 of Office 2013 (Service Pack 1 with the October 2017 Update)

Office 2016 users must ensure that their Outlook and Windows client is updated with the latest September 2021 PU (KB5001966)

Why should you upgrade to a Microsoft 365 Apps subscription?

As a result of the huge spike in remote working, both product vulnerabilities and malicious threats created new risksMicrosoft 365 Apps subscription users benefit from frequent product security patches and constant product updates delivering enhancements and new features.

Next Steps

If you know what you need to do, then just visit our online store to get the right product for you. If you would like further help or advice, please contact us and we will be in touch.